Anxiety: A Boon or A Bane

Is your worrying pathological?

Anxiety is body’s way of dealing with stressful situations, threatening conditions. It is like an automatic alarm clock that goes on when you deal with any of these situations.

Is anxiety always bad, No not always

In fact, anxiety can help you to react quickly, enhance your performance, make you commit fewer errors and motivate you to face ordeals. But when anxiety is overwhelming, it interferes with performance, activities, social interaction, makes you dysfunctional that is the time to seek help. This is when productive anxiety becomes an anxiety disorder.

Take this simple questionnaire to find out if you are suffering from anxiety disorder.

• Are you constantly tense, worried, or on edge?
• Does your anxiety interfere with your work, school, or family responsibilities?
• Are you plagued by fears that you know are irrational, but can’t shake?
• Do you believe that something bad will happen if certain things aren’t done a certain way?
• Do you avoid everyday situations or activities because they cause you anxiety?
• Do you experience sudden, unexpected attacks of heart-pounding panic?
• Do you feel like danger and catastrophe are around every corner?

If you answer any of these questions as yes then you are suffering from pathological anxiety

Signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders

Anxiety disorder symptoms are different for different people. Some people get nervous while going to social gatherings. some may be anxious about speaking in public, some may be preoccupied with worries at all time, some about the health of their close once.

But all anxiety disorders share one common symptom, abnormal intense fear or worry in conditions where others wouldn’t react like that.

Other symptoms of anxiety

• Inability to concentrate
• Worrying about Impending doom
• Nausea
• Sinking feeling
• Irritability and Restlessness
• Looking out for danger
• Mind going blank
• Palpitations ,chest pain ,shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Abdominal pain
• Frequent urination or diarrhea
• Shortness of breath
• Tremors and twitches ,Muscle tension
• Headache ,Fatigue
• Insomnia

Another common symptom associated with anxiety is depression, most anxious people are susceptible to getting it, and so the treatment for depression should be initiated along with treatment of anxiety.

How to control your anxiety

• make time each day for relaxation and fun
• Talk to somebody
• Exercise daily
• Join hobby classes or do something which you enjoy
• Don’t shy from seeking help
• Jot down your worries. 
• Worry period, designate some time in day for worrying. Choose few minute each day to get anxious. During this period, focus only on thoughts which result in excessive worrying. if any negative thoughts come into your head during the rest of day, write them down and postpone them to the designated time
• Accept uncertainty, Learn to accept uncertainty and not all life’s problems require immediate attention.
• Learn relaxation exercises, Relaxation techniques such as meditation, muscle relaxation, and deep. breathing exercices can decrease anxiety symptoms.
• Follow healthy eating habits.
• Reduce alcohol and nicotine, avoid substance abuse.
• Get enough sleep. A lack of sleep can exacerbate anxious thoughts and feelings, so try to get 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep a nigh

If anxiety has started to take a toll on your life, you have started to become dysfunctional then seek medical and  psychological help.

Treatment

Anxiety disorder responds well to treatment. Modality of treatment depends upon the severity and type of anxiety disorder. Generally treatment is a combination of medication, behavioral therapy.

Behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders

• Cognitive behavioural therapy focuses on thoughts and behaviors; cognitive-behavioral therapy helps to identify negative thinking patterns and irrational beliefs that are precursor to anxiety.
• Exposure therapy for anxiety disorder treatment encourages confronting fears in a safe, controlled environment.

Medication for anxiety disorders

A large variety of medications, including benzodiazepines and antidepressants, are used in the treatment of anxiety. Medication may sometimes be used for short-term to deal with severe anxiety symptoms and make receptive to psychological treatment.